All the compulsion of a thriller... Once again the South African novelist returns to his great theme of a journey into the interior, physical and spiritual, which enables him to examine man's existence in a largely hostile universe

Freshly, vividly and differently imagined as anything in his work to date

A moving, angry, exuberant journey into some of mankind's darkest dreams and the redemptive power of his most resilient hope

Funny, absorbing and quite original. I've read nothing to touch it this year

Sacred Country is a book that we give to our friends and are glad to have read…it makes us look forward to Ms. Tremain’s other books with hungry pleasure

A remarkable book about Perec's own early life whose formality is quite hauntingly at odds with its terrible subject

Perec has a political edge and his books can shift your mental furniture. This is a fine example of a very brave idea that he made work quite brilliantly. as horrifying as Orwell but as ludicrous as Monty Python. What two bizarre flavours to mix into the same dish and not nauseate the reader! It's brilliant. It is a very influential book and it's always in the background of my writing. It's a very fine role model because it says you can make anything work as long as you navigate the pitfalls.

I re-read the "Dance" every five years or so and always find something new – the world has changed but the characters are evergreen. Everybody has a Widmerpool in their life.

He has wit, style, and panache, in a world where those qualities are in permanently short supply

[A] comic masterpiece

Comic, satisfying, thought-provoking, addictive

It's his supreme skill in mastering a lengthily interwoven chronicle, the evolution of such a range and variety of pin-point characters, the wit and the cultural ambition that give the novel a unique place in English Literature.

Sparky debut

Benedictus takes us on a trail of the contentious highs and lows of the rich and famous in a mixture of dark humour and sharp dialogue. For Benedictus, and his valiant debut novel, more of the same please

The story of the ultimate celeb after-party, it's a knowing wink at publishing and celebrity culture - a high-concept first novel sitting just the right side of salacious

The Afterparty avoids smugness partly because it has more affection that vitriol for the culture that it mocks... It's very funny, but sad, too... Well-drawn characters, smart dialogue and a canny plot